ID: 8 year old? aspie? arrest her!

Brimming with pride to see the home state make the national news on ABC. Here's one Idaho town's take-no-prisoners response to autism spectrum disorders - oh, wait a minute, strike that:

Parents Consider Legal Action After Autistic Girl, 8, Arrested at School - Evelyn Towry Was Cuffed, Led Away by Police After Scuffle Over School Party

The mother of an 8-year-old autistic girl who was arrested after a scuffle with her teachers said it was horrifying to watch her daughter be led away in handcuffs from her northern Idaho elementary school... Police in Bonner County, Idaho, charged the girl, Evelyn Towry, with battery...

Spring Towry said she got to the school... just in time to see 54-pound Evelyn - who was diagnosed at age 5 with Asperger's Syndrome, a high functioning form of autism - being walked to a police car with two officers at her side. "She started screaming 'Mommy, I don't want to go! What are batteries? What are batteries?'" Towry said. "She didn't even know what she was arrested for."

Towry, who lives in Ponderay, said Evelyn told her that she had been refused entry into a school Christmas party that had been delayed until after the holidays because of a string of snow days, because she refused to take off her beloved "cow costume" - a hoodie with cow ears and a tail.

Towry said Evelyn... told her she was put in a separate classroom away from the party, but when she tried to leave, the teachers told her to stay put. Evelyn did not listen, Towry said, and the adults physically restrained her...

Via I Speak Of Dreams.

Bonus link: for those who need a diagram to see why this was wrong (this person perhaps), Asperger Square 8 has drawn one for you:

ID: nothing pretextual to see here, move along

From the Times-News:

Man arrested for littering in Twin Falls

Twin Falls police arrested a homeless man for littering after he allegedly shucked the plastic wrapper from a pack of cigarettes to the ground...

And they all moved away from him there on the Group W bench...

MT: right to counsel, nickel and dimed

From the Missoulian:

Sheriff, public defenders at odds over free calls

After allowing toll-free telephone calls between Missoula County jail inmates and their public defenders for more than two years, Sheriff Mike McMeekin says lost revenue has forced the arrangement to cease. As of July 1, indigent inmates must call their attorneys collect if they want to chat about their legal embroilments over the phone. Ed Sheehy, Missoula's regional deputy public defender, is crying foul...

"Lost revenue"?:

The phone provider to the Missoula County Detention Facility, AGM Telecom, charges a connection fee of $2.60 per call...

Damned Sixth Amendment doesn't comport with Sheriff's business plan.

ID: pay prosecutor $, get out of trouble, okay?

It's great to see that Idaho has a contender in the prosecutor pay-to-play scam sweepstakes. From KIFI:

E. Idaho prosecutor faces charges concerning public money

Caribou County Prosecutor Criss James is accused of dismissing citations in exchange for about $3,800 in cash that authorities say he deposited into his personal bank account... James is still serving as Caribou County's prosecutor. James can't be removed unless he's convicted of the charges or is removed through a recall process.

Felony charges against Caribou County prosecutor stand

A judge has refused to dismiss felony charges against Caribou County prosecutor Criss James... Prosecutors allege the money was supposed to go to the county's public funds, including its drug court.

Same day, same docket, from KPVI:

Buttars and James Back in Court

The Caribou County Courthouse was busy today with two high-profile cases taking place. Kevin Buttars and Criss James were both back in court. Kevin Buttars was back in court for his sentencing today; Criss James later sat in the same seat while his defense held a motion hearing.

The day started with Kevin Buttars. On January 25th, a jury found the ex-Montpelier Police Officer guilty of battery after he was accused of excessive force and simulated sodomy while in police questioning with Jared Finley... Buttars will spend 15 days in jail...

As for Criss James... The defense stated the money given to James were donations - relating it to community service. The state strongly disagreed. They said this was public money - not donations - because this money wasn't given from the kindness of someone's heart. It was to get them out of trouble...

It's a fair cop, innit?

E-mailed by Liz at I Speak of Dreams, from the British Psychological Society's Research Digest Blog:

Just how good are police officers at detecting liars?

We had just sat through a presentation by a proponent of the Reid Technique, a potentially psychologically coercive method of persuading a suspect to confess, used widely in North America (although not in the UK). The North American police officers, in the majority at this international conference a couple of years ago, loved it. British police delegates and we psychologists shifted uncomfortably in our seats...

As Grits for Breakfast reminds us,

Juvenile Interrogation Tactics Ignore Developmental Vulnerabilities

Another significant criticism of the Reid Technique is that juvenile suspects (as well as those who are mentally retarded or mentally ill) are especially vulnerable to deceptive and psychologically coercive interrogation techniques now standard because they are more compliant and suggestible. There is significant research to show that juveniles are more susceptible to false confessions, but Reid training does not address the relevant differences between kids and adults, and indicates that their standard methods are appropriate for juveniles...

"He didn’t have any weapon on him. He didn’t even have a pencil."

E-mailed by Liz at I Speak of Dreams, two items of concern from Autism Vox:

Aide Files Charges Against 6-year-old

Charges have been filed against an autistic 6-year-old, Nathan Darnell, of Brooksvile, Kentucky, by a teacher’s aide, Glenda Schlitz. As reported in the September 19th Ledger Independent, "According to his parents... 6-year-old Nathan had allegedly refused to eat his breakfast at school and was told by the teacher’s aide in the cafeteria he could lay his head down if he ate his breakfast. When he did not do it, the aide started to leave the area. Nathan then allegedly pushed the aide, Glenda Schlitz and caused her to fall to her knees... Then, on Sept. 13, the Darnells received notice of fourth-degree assault charges filed Sept. 11, against Nathan by Schiltz..."

Six years old. And this:

Would you want him Tased or hit by a car?

That’s what Jim Amormino, a spokesman for the Orange County sheriff’s department said in defense of sheriff’s deputies use of a Taser stun gun on a 15-year-old Taylor Karras. Karras, who has autism, had fled from his parents during a visit to the Regional Center of Orange County in Westminster about 11:30 a.m. Monday. Karras had gone there for counseling, which he did not want... About nine hours later, his mother saw him about one block from their home — 16 miles from the center — on the ground and handcuffed by deputies...

What a world.

WA: cops' DUI's - bear stickers, free passes

<--- Correct.

Incorrect. --->



From the Seattle P-I:

That 'bear sticker' on the window signals, 'Hey, I'm a cop'

Undue Influence: Bear stickers and other cop-outs

One way some police officers get favoritism from other cops is small, round and sticky. P-I reporter Lewis Kamb gives the story behind the story of those bear stickers.

Bear stickers, other cop-outs: Lewis Kamb

The stylized, striding bear is a wink-and-a-nod to other officers, meaning: "This car's owner is a cop..."

And all this time I thought these were parking permits for the local high school, home of the Bears. I can be so dumb.

The whole "Undue Influence" series - "when cops let fellow cops drive drunk" - is here.

WA: YouTube notoriety for Tenino taser cop

I love south Thurston County - it reminds me of home! From The Olympian:

Tenino officer investigated for stun gun video on YouTube

A Tenino officer depicted zapping a man between the legs with a stun gun in what appears to be consensual horseplay on a YouTube video is under investigation by the department...

ID: Loebs won't prosecute Good Samaritan canoeists

Good news of common sense prevailing, from the Times-News:

Canoeists won't get ticket

Two canoeists who were given $85 tickets for not carrying life jackets as they recovered a suicide victim's body Sunday from the Snake River have had their citations dismissed. The Twin Falls County prosecutor declined to file cases Wednesday against Dennis Bohrn and Michael Futrell, both of whom were cited for failing to carry a personal flotation device...

Following the prosecutor's decision, Magistrate Roger Harris dismissed the two cases without prejudice. "(Brown) has dragged a lot of people without life vests out of the river," said Twin Falls County Prosecuting Attorney Grant Loebs. "His citation was a legal citation. With regard to when he gave it, these people were trying to help out, and, given what they were trying to do and given the situation they were in, I think they get the picture and that justice is served by giving them a warning in this case."

Grant and Roger were my friends in Twin, and are uncommonly decent men.

Meanwhile, the City of Twin Falls would like to say, "hey, don't blame us!":

One of the finest attributes of Southern Idaho is the caring nature of the people who live here. Generally speaking, they are friendly, outgoing and ready to assist a neighbor in need. Please do not take the actions of the deputy in question as a reflection of the way the rest of the community may think or act. We would like to make a distinction between the agencies that provide services to our community. The deputy that issued the citation to the canoeists does not work for the City but rather the County of Twin Falls."

Update: Editorial - County citations a harsh reward for heroic actions

ID: law enforcement on the spot

From the Twin Falls Times-News:

Canoeists who pulled suicide victim to shore ticketed - Man says deputy could have used some discretion in issuing citations for having no life jackets

Dennis Bohrn paddled hard across the Snake River to get a suicide victim's body to land. When he and three others paddling canoes Sunday morning dragged the woman's body, they were stunned and crying - had she jumped? Had she been pushed? Had she slipped? And they were even more stunned when at the shore a deputy cited them twice for not carrying life vests in either canoe...

Update: Professor Childress at Legal Profession Blog takes this and runs with it - Why Prosecutorial Discretion Still Matters in a Democracy.


(He also draws a parallel between Sheriff Wayne Tousley (left) and the Wallace Shawn character in The Princess Bride (right))

ID: "an obscure criminal provision"

Back in my homeland, when an officer couldn't find any section of Idaho Code to fit a perceived 'crime,' he just made one up. And, the case went right past the trial judge up to the Court of Appeals. Thanks to fellow Idaho lawyer (and expatriate) Useful Information:

This month, we learn of another unlucky fellow — Blaine Murray, who got stopped by an Idaho Fish & Game officer and cited for the offense of "Violate Forest Service Road Closure."

The citation indicated that "Violate Forest Service Road Closure" is codified at "I.C. 36-401(b)10(C)." But if you take a look, you’ll see that there is no "I.C. 36-401(b)10(C)." Of course, the prosecutor who argued the charge against Mr. Murray recognized that. That’s why the prosecutor moved to amend the charge by adding a "1," to make it "I.C. 36-1401(b)10(C)." The magistrate allowed the amendment, and the wheels of justice rolled on.

Except that there is no "I.C. 36-1401(b)10(C)" either...

More fun in Fremont County magistrates court - where Murray was convicted - here. The opinion, State v. Murray, No. 32394 (Idaho App. Nov. 30, 2006) is here (pdf file). As Useful Info notes:

The Court of Appeals, after careful analysis, concluded that this fiasco "presents the rare circumstance where a charging document fails, under even the most liberal construction, to charge an offense and therefore is insufficient to confer subject matter jurisdiction on an Idaho court."

WA: lawyer arrested while trying to reach client

In the Tri-Cities, a longtime Kennewick defense attorney was arrested when he tried to stop police from questioning his client about a double homicide.

Read that again: "when he tried to stop police from questioning his client."

Jim Egan said he was arrested, handcuffed and booked into the Benton County jail on charges he obstructed a police officer.

Egan said he was hired Thursday to represent Cameron O. Jones, 18...

Egan said he called the jail and was told Jones was in the custody of Kennewick police. But when he called the police department, Egan said he was told they would not tell him Jones' location.

When Egan arrived at the police station in downtown Kennewick a short time later, Sgt. Randy Maynard and Deputy Prosecutor Scott Johnson told Egan he had no right to see Jones because Jones had not asked to speak with him.

As Maynard and Johnson opened a door to return to a secure area of the station, Egan said he began yelling, "Cameron Jones, Cameron Jones, your lawyer is here."

Egan said he yelled several times before Maynard arrested him, handcuffed his arms behind his back and had him taken to jail. Egan said he was searched, fingerprinted, photographed and then released without posting bail pending a court appearance...

Egan said he plans to fight the obstruction charge and possibly sue for false arrest.

Bonus link goes to Bad Cop, No Donut!

"...got so high, I scratched 'til I bled..."

So, I should be glad that my old next-door neighbor didn't take this class?


In-Class Meth Demonstration Angers Parents (with video):

Grays Harbor County sheriff's deputy: "And the reaction will start occurring down there and start bubbling up."

It is part chemistry class and part drug enforcement as a member of the Grays Harbor drug task force talks to Elma High School students about making Methamphetamine.

Deputy shows class: "Then you'll have a little bit down at the bottom, the white stuff, and that's your meth."

(link via Misc Media by Clark Humphrey, who states, "In Cobain-Land, the authorities apparently believe they're helping the kids by teaching 'em how to make their own meth.")

Mistrial

Second trial in the new jurisdiction today. Again, a disagreement over a client of mine and somebody else's property. In my clients' eyes and mine, the State would have a time of it getting past reasonable doubt, and we could show the jury a decent guy made into an unwitting trafficker in goods that he didn't know were stolen.

Things were going pleasantly, with an above-board prosecutor. He and I had a few laughs with the jury panel, and then a helpful in-court clerk guided me through the color code for the local three-highlighter method of peremptory challenges. My client was in a good mood, and I was looking forward to putting on his testimony. The first two civilian witnesses were fine, inflicting no devastating blows.

Then came the turn of the Overly Helpful Detective, ten year veteran of the force, who volunteered a bit of information that was so important that he just had to share it with the jury. Strangely, the same information had not been important enough to include in any police report or any page of discovery. I'd done several interviews with my client, and it was news to me. To be fair, perhaps the detective didn't consider the info unusual enough to burden the prosecutor with it until today, and only comprehended what a shame it would be not to speak up until he was on re-direct:

Pros Q: "What was the relationship between Mr. Client and Mr. Other-Guy?" (who sold him the goods)

Cop A: "Mr. Other-Guy was a drug dealer who sold methamphetamine to Mr. Client..." (approximately: I didn't write down the exact quote because I was too busy picking up my jaw from where it dropped)

Bless her heart, Her Honor granted a mistrial. Thanks for playing the game, Mr. Detective! See you at the re-trial! Enjoy your conversation with the prosecutor on the way out the door!

Bonus link:
(review)